The 2014–15 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It was their first season under head coach Kelvin SampsonCougars hire Kelvin Sampson, ESPN.com, retrieved 29 May 2014 and second as members of the American Athletic Conference. The Cougars’ home arena was the on-campus Hofheinz Pavilion. Their record was 13–19, and 4–14 in conference play to finish in tenth place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2015 American Conference tournament, where they lost to Tulsa.
Pre-season
Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes 2 G 185 Alexandria, Louisiana Graduated 3 G 175 Dayton, Ohio Requested release to move closer to home; transferred to OhioHouston Freshman PG Jaaron Simmons Transfers To Ohio, SB Nation, retrieved 29 May 2014 12 G 160 Plano, Texas Graduated 14 G 170 Baltimore, Maryland Graduated 23 G 195 Sugar Land, Texas Requested release after resignation of former head coach James Dickey; transferred to Texas A&MFormer UH guard Danuel House transfers to A&M, Houston Chronicle, retrieved 1 June 2014 24 G 185 Houston, Texas Graduated 35 F 215 Killeen, Texas Requested release after resignation of former head coach James Dickey; transferred to OklahomaFormer UH basketball player Thomas heading to Oklahoma, Houston Chronicle, retrieved 29 May 2014 45 C 215 Houston, Texas Requested release after resignation of former head coach James Dickey; transferred to Washington St.Valentine Izundu granted release from UH basketball team, Houston Chronicle, retrieved 29 May 2014 55 F 245 Missouri City, Texas Graduated
Returnees Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes 0 F 195 Nassau, Bahamas Competed in 31 games as a freshman with 10 starts. Two-time American Rookie of the Week. Third on the team in rebounding. Averaged 7.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game on 47% shooting. 1 F 205 Nassau, Bahamas Competed in 28 games as a junior with 16 starts. Averaged 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game on 49% shooting. 4 G 190 Stonewall, Louisiana Competed in 30 games as a sophomore with 15 starts. Averaged 3.2 points and 2.5 rebounds on 39% shooting. 5 G 190 Houston, Texas Competed in 28 games as a sophomore with 25 starts. Led the American Conference in assists at 5.5 per game. Finished 11th in the conference at 77.8% from the free throw line. Scored 8.5 points with 2.5 rebounds per game on 40% shooting. 20 F 205 Houston, Texas Redshirted last season after transferring from Loyola Marymount. 21 G 210 Terrell, Texas Competed in 33 games as a sophomore with 9 starts. Finished as the third leading scorer with 11.2 points per game. Ranked 3rd in the American Conference with 2.4 three-pointers per game. Also averaged 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game on 39% shooting.
Incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes G 160 Indianapolis, Indiana Transferred from Purdue; will sit out the 2014–15 seasonPurdue transfer Ronnie Johnson lands at Houston, CBS Sports, retrieved 29 May 2014
Class of 2014 signees
Injuries
In July, both LJ Rose and Mikhail McLean had foot surgery. Each needed three to four months to recover.Surgeries Not Expected to Make McLean, Rose Miss Any Games, Chron.com, retrieved 16 August 2014
Roster
Schedule and results On May 28, the American Athletic Conference announced the format and opponents for the 2014–15 conference schedule. Due to an odd number of conference members and maintaining an 18-game schedule, each team played 8 opponents twice (home and away) and two opponents once (1 home, 1 away). UConn (home) and Temple (away) were the two teams the Cougars played just once this season.2014-15 Men's Basketball Schedule Format Announced, TheAmerican.org, retrieved 29 May 2014 On July 18, the team announced participation in the championship pairings of the 2014 Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic, alongside Boise State, Texas Tech, and Loyola–Chicago at the Orleans Arena. Two on-campus games preceded the Las Vegas-hosted games,Men's Basketball to Compete at Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic, UHCougars.com, retrieved 23 June 2014 with one at South Carolina State.SC State Men's Basketball Releases 2014-15 Schedule, retrieved 16 August 2014 In August, ESPN reported that Houston's visit to Harvard for a game on November 25.Harvard Hoops Schedule in Focus, retrieved 16 August 2014 The remainder of the Cougars' schedule was announced by the American Athletic Conference on August 28.American Athletic Conference Announces 2014-15 Men's Basketball Schedule, TheAmerican.org, retrieved 30 August 2014
!colspan=12 style="background:#CC0000; color:white;"| Exhibition
!colspan=12 style="background:#CC0000; color:white;"| Regular season
!colspan=12 style="background:#CC0000; color:white;"| American Athletic Conference
Tournament
References